


Attacked

by imaginaryfriendashkun



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Angst, Blood Loss, Death, Established Relationship, Fear, Gangs, Hospitals, Hostage Situation, Hurt/Comfort, Investigation, LGBT, Loss, Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Out of Control, Physical hurt, Whump, drug, fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27575531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginaryfriendashkun/pseuds/imaginaryfriendashkun
Summary: Gavin and Nines are held hostage by a gang that takes sadistic pleasure in drugging androids and forcing them to kill their human or android lovers.
Relationships: Nines/Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	Attacked

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved. No part of these pages, either text or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Reproduction, modification, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, for reasons other than personal use, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. 
> 
> All mistakes - plot, grammar, characterization, situation descriptions - are mine. Not beta'd. Let me know if there are glaring problems, I want to improve :) 
> 
> #DetroitEvolution

_Gavin shuffles his feet and puts his hands in his coat. "So, someone is targeting androids and their partners."_

_Nines isn't sure where this is going. "Yes, Detective, that **is** obvious."_

_Gavin hisses, "Tin can, don't get sassy with me."_

_Gavin looks at Nines' LED pointedly._

_Oh, so that is where Gavin is indeed going._

_Nines asks, "You want me to remove my LED? So people won't identify me as an android? Our profiling shows that I am not the perps' type, you aren't either, they won't target us."_

_Gavin raises his eyebrows and hisses, "You think I am being irrational?"_

_"Gavin, they are targeting androids' partners too, human or android partners, humans and androids **both** are being targeted. There are so many cases where humans are targeted cruelly like this. Technically, given our human and android population ratio, number of crimes with humans as victims are higher. I can't ask you to put on an LED to stop looking like human."_

_Gavin snaps, "How will the LED change color if you put it on me? I don't have a processor for it to be connected to."_

_Nines sighs fondly in exasperation. Gavin just avoided Nines' sentence completely. "I can do that wirelessly."_

_Gavin smacks his forehead and flicks Nines' lightly, "You are insufferable."_

_"So are you, Detective. So now that we have concluded that neither of us can change anything, lets go on with the case, shall we?"_

~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin blinks his eyes and groans as his entire body flares in pain. It fucking hurts. Those bastards really did a number on him. They didn't hesitate at all. They just went in for the kill. They didn't go easy at all. But then again, why would they?

They wanted to capture Gavin and Nines, that was clearly their objective and they have. Even though Gavin and Nines are different from their usual victims, if Gavin is indeed right about this being connected to the case they are working on currently. Gavin's heart beats faster when he thinks of Nines. Nines went down easily. They brought him down so easily. They shot at him with some vile looking liquid and Nines could only dodge out of the way so much, there were too many shots and even though Nines is always fast on his feet, it wasn't enough. On immediate impact, he was out like a light.

Gavin has never seen Nines forced to go into statis like that before. Nines is the strongest model out there, physically and mentally. The best AI, the best android. Even when he is under statis, he can get out of it before the fixed timer - only few models can do that - easily if he were to hear any disturbance, even a very minute sound.

Gavin screamed at Nines yesterday and nothing, nada, zilch, Nines stayed like a stone, unmoving. Gavin was worried as hell, he is still worried, his own physical state can go to fucking hell, where is Nines? How is he? Is he OK? What is wrong with him? What if it is irreversible?

Gavin takes a deep breath and shakes his head, he stops his thoughts from spiraling into an abyss. This is not going to help anyone. He tries to assess his situation. It is difficult but he tries to. He is on a chair and his hands and legs are both tied to the arms and legs of the chair. Very tightly. He can't move, not even an inch. He is very securely tied.

He has a few bruised ribs and lots of cuts and scrapes all over his body. He tried to fight back after Nines was taken down within the first few minutes, he didn't last long either given there were so many of them. Backup wasn't fast enough. They were playing with him, sick bastards, they didn't inject him with anything. They just fought with him physically, knowing that they already have taken down the major threat - Nines. But, Gavin didn't give in easily either. He is a great fighter even if he is not an android, thank you very much. He did leave a quick message to Connor and Hank, will they be able to track him and Nines on time?

It hurts a little, it actually hurts Gavin's ego a lot, more than just a little but he knows that he is human and compared to androids, he honestly is nothing when it comes to physical strength and stamina when pitted against so many people, he did land in a few punches and broke few bones but it wasn't enough to escape by himself or help Nines. Even against the most basic and old models.

He looks around. He is in a small room. There are no windows. There are no other objects. There is only one door and a light hanging from the ceiling. That's pretty much it.

He can't even figure out where he is. And not seeing Nines around is bothering him, a _lot._

This is too much eerily similar to the case they have been working on for the past two weeks. Some vicious group has been injecting androids with some bugs to control them, some kind vile liquid to cause them pain and overwrite their deviancy and base programming. It temporarily corrupts their data and erases all their memories about their loved ones. 

The psychos have even experimented on the victims, physically, both humans and androids just for fun, just for the sake of it, nothing too specific, no reason.

The group then forces them to their most primal state and orders the affected androids to kill their loved ones - partners or friends or family or colleagues. People who are close to them, who mean a lot to them.

They are released by the group after the kill. They remember everything, including how they killed their own loved ones with their hands. They are given a choice. To live on or give up. 

They won't be arrested according to the laws but they have to live with the guilt and the painful memories forever. Few might go insane. Few might live. Few might hurt others. Yes, even androids are affected by negative emotions and mental breakdowns. Or they can just erase all their data, coding and self destruct and cease to exist. Basically die - kill themselves is the human term - along with their loved ones.

It is psychotic and sadistic.

Four couples have been killed till now and all four androids chose to take their own lives before they were even given a choice by the group. The group takes a video of everything and sends it to the police station, mocking the cops. _Bastards._

The four couples - two male androids, a male android and a female human, a female android and a female human, two female androids - were normal people. Normal white collar job workers. Very kind people. No issues. No complications. Loved by everyone. No major set backs or drama in their relationships. Soft. Gentle. 

They were around varying ethnicities, ages and nationalities. Nothing was common. There was no connection among the different couples.

Geographic profiling showed that they lived in nearby areas but their paths never crossed. 

Nines and Gavin even thought of going undercover but they are kind of famous and ruled it out. Also, their professions, personalities, explosive beginning of a relationship, where they live don't match the profile.

Or that's what they thought, concluded that the group won't come after Nines and Gavin or even Connor and Hank for the matter. Where they fooled? Were the profiles very different on purpose? Were they the end goal after all? Did the group just thoughtlessly, viciously test on others just to get to Nines and Gavin? But _why?_

This doesn't seem random. This doesn't seem like a copycat either. Nines and Gavin are the intended target. The full news wasn't even released to the public yet. Sometimes, not making the public panic helps even though it seems heartless or careless to hide. Of course, warnings are issued about serial killers or groups on lose but not complete details.

Gavin turns as he hears the door open and in comes in a masked person.

He types something on a projected keyboard connected to his digital watch. And Gavin gets a very bad feeling in his stomach. As if to confirm, Nines walks in. Except... it isn't Nines.

His LED is stuck in a permanent shade of dark red which Gavin has never seen on him before. It is not the usual shade of light or dark red. This is different. Almost too maroonish, like dried blood. Gavin's heart drops to his stomach.

Nines has a blank look on his face. He doesn't even seem to be aware of his surroundings. He looks mechanical, robotic, deadly, like a hunter waiting for a command. His face is a blank slate, expressionless and Gavin has _never_ seen Nines like this in the past few months. 

Initially, after deviancy, Nines was like that, like a robot, he was still learning and evolving but later, he became expressive, human like after sometime. Especially after their relationship settled in place - enemies to acquaintances to colleagues to partners to friends to lovers. He stopped being doubtful of himself, of his purpose, of his emotions.

And worst of all, Nines' eyes are red. Blood red. Bright. Inhuman. Demonic. Eerie. Creepy. Emotionless. Gavin misses Nines' warmth, his warm deep blue lovely eyes, his smile, his expressions. 

Gavin whispers, "Nines?"

There is no reaction.

The masked person giggles and types in something else and Nines looks at Gavin, finally and Gavin feels chills. His blood curdles. Those eyes still don't recognize him but they are determined, steel like, they want him dead. That's Nines' mission now. And Gavin feels frightened. He will never accept it out loud though. He fears of himself but he fears for Nines the most.

He doesn't want to die because of Nines. Because he knows for sure that Nines will choose to self destruct later. Gavin isn't afraid of the pain. He has been through a lot, physically, emotionally, mentally. Pain is nothing new. But this kind of pain? This kind of hurt from Nines? No. He doesn't want this. He doesn't want Nines to go through this either. Shit. Shit. **_Shit._**

"Nines, tin can, metal head, break out of it, **_Nines!"_**

The masked person shakes his head, "It is of no use, idiot."

Gavin ignores her. He continues to shout, "Nines, please. It is me. Gavin. Detective Gavin Reed. Your partner. Your lover. Please, tin can, don't do this to yourself. Please, for fuck's sake, you useless piece of metal! Aren't you supposed to be the best AI out there, fucking idiot? Useless scrap metal, I am going to hack you into pieces once we get out of this!"

"You are not getting out of this."

"Nines! Tin can!"

"What are you afraid of the most, Detective?" The masked woman asks and it sounds eerily like Nines' voice. She is not an android, an android would have mimicked the voice of another person or android perfectly. But few things settle in place.

The death... the mode of death was different for each couple. And now Gavin understands why. It was their partners' worst fear. The first person was drowned. The second one was crushed by a train. The third one was buried alive. The fourth one was burned alive.

These sick bastards went through the data, the private data of the ones they were controlling. Gavin shudders. That is so disgusting that he wants to puke. He doesn't want these bastards going through Nines' memories, he doesn't want them to know Gavin and Nines' secrets, their little moments together.

Those are meant to be only between lovers, only between the two of them. Gavin feels so much rage. Damn it. He quivers and shakes but he can't get free. If only he had his gun, he would have put a hole through this bitch's head. He can't see it but he can feel that she is laughing, mocking, smirking under that mask. He wonders how her expression would be with a bullet in her forehead. Yea?

But he doesn't have time to imagine killing her. He has other things to worry about. Nines is glaring at him with intent, looking at him like prey and he is smirking and it sends shivers down Gavin's spine. Not in a good way.

Nines steps forward, slowly, he knows Gavin has no where to go, Nines is going to take his sweet time breaking Gavin, Nines knows what Gavin is afraid of the most. _Fuck._

The masked lady steps out with a giggle and locks the door with a click. "Have fun, sweethearts!" But of course, she is still watching from outside, she is not alone, the whole gang is watching, sick bastards. They are filming this. There is a camera in the room, on the corner of the wall.

Nines slices through the ropes and before Gavin can even move, Nines slams hard into his cheek and he falls down along with the chair and coughs. Fuck. Shit. Crap. Damn. That hurts like a bitch. He coughs up a little blood.

"You are nothing. You don't deserve me. You don't deserve anything good. You are useless. Nobody loves you." Nines' voice is emotionless but the words hurt more than the punch. Gavin crawls away from the chair with a moan. His body really isn't doing well. Nines easily drags him by his left foot. Gavin tries to land a punch but Nines blocks him easily. Gavin tries again anyway and it is his fist that hurts, of course, Nines isn't made of flesh and blood and this isn't their usual sparring where Nines tones down his strength, he means business here and Gavin tries again and again blindly.

Nines suddenly holds one of Gavin's foot and as Gavin tries to squirm away, he steps on his other ankle without hesitation and an inhuman scream rips out of Gavin before he can even try to stop himself.

Is he going to die like this at Nines' hands? Is he going to let Nines watch this later? Remember this later? Feel this later? Is he going to let Nines look at his dead body? Didn't they promise to not leave each other?

He feels blind panic close in. He can't breathe but fuck, he kicks his good foot and Nines lets him go and steps back. Willingly. Because Nines knows that Gavin has nowhere to go, Gavin has _no_ escape.

Gavin feels his chest constrict. He tries to keep himself grounded and in the present even though the present is fucking shitty, fucked up, messed up in all ways possible. "N-Ni-Nines, p-please, s-stop."

"You are of no worth. You will die alone. Nobody cares about you. Nobody likes you. I don't like you, much less love you."

"Tin c-can, N-Nines, G-Gavin here, a-asshole, N-Nines!" He screams as Nines twists his arm behind his back and presses on his broken foot lightly.

"N-Nines, remember, god damn it, shitty android, w-why are you malfunctionin' a-at a time l-like this? Y-you are supposed to be d-durable and t-the best out there right?"

He tries mimicking Nines' voice, _"I am m-most a-advanced AI out here."_

There is no way Gavin can fight against Nines with the way he is now, he can't even move, those bastards probably put something in him too. Nines is physically much much stronger than Gavin. If Gavin tries to punch or kick Nines, Gavin is the one who is going to end up with broken bones just like a few seconds back. Nines won't so much as budge.

Something flickers in Nines' eyes - is that a shade of blue in his red eyes? - his LED and eyes go dull for a moment from that blood red state and Gavin rushes through words brokenly, he feels like he is going to faint, like the blackness is going to envelope him forever, like he won't ever wake up and he can't let that happen without reason, without even fighting back. Doesn't have to be physical. Fuck if he won't even try to save their asses, especially Nines'.

Nines snaps out of it and wraps his hands around Gavin's neck after dealing a swift blow to his already bruised ribs. This is what Gavin is afraid of. He is not afraid of anything else. He is afraid of being hated by his loved ones, he is afraid of being a disappointment, he is afraid of being left alone by his loved ones, he is afraid of not deserving their love, of Nines' love.

He is afraid of being hurt by Nines after having shown all of his sides - especially the most vulnerable ones - to the loving, patient, warm android. He is afraid of being thrown away by Nines. He is afraid of Nines realizing that Gavin is a waste of space and that Nines can do much better. That would be the death of Gavin, being ignored by Nines.

And Nines is literally doing that to him right now. Physically and emotionally rejecting him. Hating him. Killing him. That's the ultimate rejection, isn't it?

No, no, no, Gavin won't have it. Nines is doing it against his will. No, no, he can't let Nines wake up after having killed Gavin with his own hands. Gavin knows Nines loves him, trusts, cares for him him - even though it is very hard to hold onto that trail of thought given what Nines was forced to say a few minutes back - and even if one day in future, he chooses to leave Gavin, he will never hurt Gavin like this, physically or emotionally or mentally. Nines is _far_ better than that.

Far humane, better than most human beings to be honest. He always tries his best. No matter what the task. He will never do something like this to Gavin or any one else in general.

"You p-plastic prick." He murmurs breathily, trying to bite back the whimpers. He tries to claw at Nines' smooth hands but the grip is too strong.

_"T-takes one to k-know one."_ He tries to say in Nines' voice.

_"A f-force of l-life you can't live without? C-Can't l-live without m-me? A-afraid to go back to b-being alone without me?"_ He struggles to come out with Nines' voice modulation.

"I h-hate you." He is losing it rapidly. He can't hold on much longer. He stops fighting against Nines' hands around his neck and places a palm softly on Nines' cheeks. He gently rubs Nines' cheek and soft hair.

_"You l-love me, D-detective... G-Gavin."_

"I l-love you, N-Nines."

Strength drains from his body.

"N-Nines, tin c-can, t-toaster, p-please d-don't do t-this to y-yourself. P-Please d-don't destroy yourself. You d-deserve better. N-Nines. N-Nines. _**N-Nines..."**_ Nines sounds like a mantra now. And he can't stop himself despite the pain.

Blind spots are dancing in his vision and suddenly he realizes that Nines is frozen. Nines' grip around Gavin's neck is slowly slackening. Gavin forces his eyes open to see that Nines face has a very confused expression. His LED is dancing between blue and yellow and red. His eyes are not completely red anymore. There is a flicker of blue.

"N-Nines, _N-Nines..."_ He forces himself to breathe.

"P-please come back."

Nines expressions dance between hatred, intent to kill, sadness, anger and fight for control. His face is contorted into something unrecognizable. Of course, this isn't easy. His LED looks like fireworks and Gavin is absolutely sure that his system is filled with multiple errors and warnings and instabilities. He hopes Nines won't shut down now.

Gavin hears the door open and a string of curses. "How the fuck did the bastard do that?"

Gavin feels triumph, proud that he has caused this, that he has thrown them out of the loop for sometime.

Gavin pushes Nines as hard as he can and is glad as Nines tumbles back. This shows how much weak Nines is currently, vulnerable - physically, mentally... maybe even emotionally - because if it were the usual Nines, he wouldn't even budge unless he wanted to, unless he gave into, wanted to give in to Reed.

"E-escape, g-go..." He is not going to let Nines get hit again by the bug on his watch, fuck no, not again. He looks like he is recovering. Gavin doesn't want to see the inhumane Nines again.

First time he let it happen, yes, he should have probably expected and tried to stop but that didn't happen. But the second time? Shame on him. If he were to let it happen the second time. 

Nines isn't fully back yet. He looks open and exposed and soft and uncertain, lost, delicate, a stark contrast to what he was a few seconds back. Nines looked every bit of the military grade robot made for hunting down other AIs and humans. But now? Not so much.

Gavin knows that Nines' system probably feels like it is crashing, Nines has projected what he sees a few times for Gavin. There are probably a lot of warnings and errors and instabilities and he is confused as hell. Gavin can picture those pop ups, those pings, those blue words. It felt like he was seeing through Nines the first time, Nines world is special. His blood loss is probably making him sappy but he doesn't care. Nines _is_ special. On his own. But to Gavin as well. He has a place in Gavin's heart. Always did and always will.

The fix, the patch probably will take a little bit longer than usual, as if unable to find the exact root cause but still will go ahead and download something anyway, as if something is better than nothing to fill the void, continuing to work on it in the background. 

  
Because Nines is like that, even though he is the best android out there, exceptional, there are certain things even his system can't fill - not everything has an answer - and he is experimental at times like those, doesn't give up, tries to do it in bits and pieces till he gets there. That is _his_ Nines. 

Gavin struggles and stumbles and covers Nines with his body and gets shot instead. It isn't a bullet. It isn't a bug. It looks like a vile disgusting liquid that is meant to destroy androids emotionally by forcing them to feel pain. It is also capable of giving them panic attacks and nightmares and tears. Fuck no. Not when Gavin is here. No. He doesn't even know if it will affect humans. He doesn't care. He wants at least Nines to get out of here alive. He can give sometime for Nines to recover.

"N-Nines, tin can, don't give up, y-you hear me?" It comes out more of an order than a request but Gavin doesn't care. Nines knows him. Nines knows his words. Nines knows his feelings. There is urgency because Gavin will really appreciate it if Nines were to come to him sooner.

Gavin feels Nines' arms wrap around him, he tries his best to envelope Nines, to keep him safe at least for a few seconds, but he knows he really can't, given their job description. "G-Gavin?"

Gavin feels his consciousness sway. He knows he is going to go out soon. "N-Nines, tin can, e-escape, d-don't die. D-don't s-spare them." Those words are enough and Gavin knows that Nines has understood and Gavin knows that Nines will do _anything_ to follow these words. 

He knows that Nines will _not_ get hurt, that he will not get caught, that he will subdue those bastards with his superfast reflexes and strength and smartness. Nines will tie them up, call the cops and get him to hospital. It doesn't matter if he survives or not. As long as Nines is fine, he is good. He lets the blackness take him out as he ignores Nines' expression and slumps in his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin feels pain everywhere, he groans. And memories hit him. Oh. Oh. Damn it. He sits up too quickly and regrets it as his entire world spins and the pain spikes. His throat is dry but he doesn't fucking care. No.

"Nines! _N-Nines!"_ His voice sounds raspy.

The room is dark and the heart monitor beeps a little because of the spike. He knows that he is in the hospital room. Why is the room fucking empty? How dare Nines leave him alone? How _dare_ he? 

Why isn't Nines here? Why can't he see Nines' LED which is usually bright even in the dark? It should be white if he is in statis or blue or red or yellow given his worried state about Gavin. Where is he?

And he ignores his pain and removes the sheets off of his legs, he is about to remove the IV drip so that he can get out of bed and go in search of Nines himself when Nines rushes in.

"Gavin! What do you think you are doing?"

"Tin can, w-where the fuck where you?"

"I just saw Officer Chen off."

Oh. Of course... Nines would never leave him alone. He wouldn't. Willingly. No. "Ni, you are fine? Are you fine? You are fine. OK, yea, you are fine, good." Nines looks fine. Physically. Mentally. LED wise. Of course, Nines is worried about him but there is no inhuman look in his eyes, no residual shit, no physical damage, no urge to kill, to destroy. Gavin hopes there are no side effects. 

He wants to touch Nines to see that it is not just a figment of his imagination, it is not an hallucination, he reaches out but Nines stays frozen.

Gavin feels his heart beat slow down. It is OK. This is Nines. This is his Nines. Thank God. Thank God. He is assured now. Nines is fine. Thank God.

Nines LED glows red and his face becomes upset. "Are you out of your mind, Detective?"

'Aren't you even going to ask about yourself?' Nines thinks.

Gavin sighs. "Y-You were not there and I-" He coughs a little. Nines gently places his legs back on the bed and covers them with the bed sheets. He adjusts the bed so that there are pillows to support Gavin's back. This position helps ease some of his pain.

Nines shakes his head, "Wait, don't speak, Gavin."

He gets a cup of water with some straw and helps Gavin drink it slowly. Gavin tries to drink it quickly, he is parched but Nines is very careful, soft, it is annoying when Nines takes it away and rubs his back and chest but Gavin knows that it is necessary. Nines doesn't want Gavin to choke himself to death which he probably would if it weren't for Nines.

That would be stupid, funny, ironical given that Gavin just escaped death narrowly, he escaped from serial killers. Nines too. A laugh bursts out of him, bubbles out of his chest and it is followed by more coughs and spike in pain but Nines adjusts his position once again and the gentle rubs help. He looks more worried and Gavin curses himself. 

He assures Nines that he hasn't lost his mind. "I am fine, tin can, don't worry."

"Only you can find something funny in this situation, Gavin."

"Do you want to know?"

Nines closes his eyes. _"No."_

Gavin lets go. He gently reaches out to intertwine their fingers. "I am glad you are fine, Nines."

"But... you are not fine, Gavin."

"You weren't doing so fine either, tin can. You are better now though, that's good. I will be fine."

Gavin hesitates uncharacteristically, "Do you... remember?"

Nines takes a deep breath and nods. "I do. I am so-"

Gavin hisses, "Do not finish that sentence. Do not apologize for something that is _not_ your fault. You were forced. You weren't in your mind. Those fucking b-bastards messed with your mind. That's inexcusable. You did not hurt me because you wanted to, you were in n-no state to-"

Nines interrupts Gavin, "I get it, it is OK, don't force yourself to speak a lot."

Gavin glares at Nines who chuckles fondly. "Point taken, Detective." Gavin nods.

"I j-just don't want you to get hurt, Nines." Nines protects his human just as Gavin protects Nines. What they don't understand is that, when one of them gets hurt for the others' sake, that hurts more than their own hurt.

"I don't want you to get hurt either, Gavin."

Standoff. There is no middle ground. They will continue to put the other before their own selves. 

Nines places his forehead on Gavin's and breathes softly. "I am glad you came back, Gavin. We nearly lost you. You have been asleep for days. It was too much for your human body. Why did you do that? How could I have lived with that guilt if I had lost you? How could you have expected me to go on?"

"Nines, you would have done the same for me. You already have done it multiple times."

Nines snaps, his LED whirring wildly. "I am kind of immortal. You are not."

Gavin scoffs back, "That doesn't mean that you won't die. That doesn't mean that you deserve the pain. That doesn't fucking mean that you should get hurt instead of me!"

Heavy silence.

Gavin swallows. "This time was different. I could have lost you, your mind, your memories, your self. I didn't want you to go through something like that. This is how it feels when you dive in to take bullets for me. You are not human, yes, your parts can be replaced, yes, but... if those bullets did some serious damage to your thirium pump or some part very important... even I could lose you. You are not completely bullet proof."

Nines sighs, tracing fingers through Gavin's face and hair, as if making sure that this is not a dream, that Gavin is in fact safe and sound and real, storing it to memory, "Gavin, is this _payback_ for all those times?"

Gavin shakes his head and says dryly. "Of course not. I would never want to put you through something like that, Nines. I am sorry. I will try to be more careful."

Nines nods. "Please. For the sake of my non existent heart."

Gavin snorts, "Your heart has more emotions than mine and I am the human here."

Nines chuckles, "You have emotions, Gavin, you are just afraid to face them, to show that you feel, is all."

Gavin smacks Nines on the head. "They seem to have fixed you really well. And you should be careful, what the fuck is this unfair one sided promise, tin can?"

Nines blinks and takes Gavin's fingers in his hands, making sure that they are not sprained or broken or hurt because Gavin did punch his extremely strong head really hard. Gavin does things like that without thinking at times, as if forgetting that Nines is an android. Gavin thinks of Nines as human, as one of him, as Gavin's and that honestly feels so beautiful. Just what did he do to deserve this wonderful side of Gavin reserved only for him?

Gavin rolls his eyes, "I am not that weak. I can practically hear the cogs in your brain, you sappy idiot."

Nines raises his eyebrows, "As if you aren't?"

Gavin was thinking along the same lines as well. What did he do to deserve this wonderful side of Nines reserved only for him? It is so weird to think that they got off on the wrong foot, that they started with hate. Hard to imagine and recollect those memories for Gavin. Nines has his memory bank but Gavin finds it a bit difficult to think of their not so smooth past. Maybe, he just doesn't want to, simply.

Nines kisses Gavin's fingers. And he blinks and hesitates a little while Gavin waits patiently. Nines links their pinkies together, he has never done it before but he knows what this entails. "I promise to be careful too, Gavin."

They lean forward at the same time to softly capture each others' lips. 

"I love you." They breathe against each other.

It is not very easy to be extremely careful, to escape danger completely, can't be avoided given their job but they will find some workaround to save each other instead of trying to sacrifice themselves for each other. After all, what is one without the other? They are a pair. Nines and Gavin. Gavin and Nines. And it will be like that, _forever._

**Author's Note:**

> Please DO NOT REPOST my fics without my permission. Kindly ask me before hand for translations. Credit my work/profile Ao3/Wattpad URL without fail. I am on AO3 ([imaginaryfriendashkun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginaryfriendashkun/pseuds/imaginaryfriendashkun)) and Wattpad ([alien/imaginaryfriendashkun](https://www.wattpad.com/user/alienfriendashkun)) and Youtube ([Ash Kun](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWO5kWpuGFJzdSV0LTLGKg?view_as=subscriber)) and Tumblr([imaginaryfriendashkun](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/imaginaryfriendashkun)) and not on any other platform
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> Thank you for reading :D Have a nice day! Kindly leave a comment if you have time :)
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> Stay safe and take care! Be happy.


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